


Misunderstanding

by Nemesis (ThetaSigma), ThetaSigma



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 03:42:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6357523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThetaSigma/pseuds/Nemesis, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThetaSigma/pseuds/ThetaSigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elliot misunderstands a situation he walks into, and it makes things extremely tense around the office. Maybe it's time for him to leave the 16th. Then comes the (canon) shooting, and he knows it is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Misunderstanding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sidewinder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidewinder/gifts).



> Mentions events from [Pounding on the Walls](archiveofourown.org/works/6006076), [The Best Ideas](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6306529), and [Elliot's Very Bad, No Good, Horrible Morning](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6355738)

Brad, John and Fin’s long-suffering neighbor, usually ignored the noises next door, or, at the most, pounded on the wall to quiet them down. But today, he was worried. He heard “Stop!” and “Hey!” and struggling, and although he was pretty sure it was a game they were playing, he wasn’t _sure_. He knew that even in long-term relationships, things went sour and people got hurt, and he didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t want to call the cops – he remembered that his neighbors were cops, and could smooth things over with the local precinct, probably, especially if one of them still had his status as a ‘hero’ cop. He ran to his desk – those detectives who had visited him had left their card, and he remembered on it it had said ‘Special Victims Unit’. They would be able to handle this.

He found the card and listened carefully to the noises. Yeah, the louder one shouted _‘Hey! That hurt!’_ just now. Brad dialed quickly.

“Stabler,” the voice answered.

“Hi, you gave me your card years back,” Brad said. “My name’s Brad, and I don’t know what to do. My neighbors… they usually have loud sex, and I’m used to that, but I think… look, I think it’s a rape this time. One of them keeps shouting stop. I don’t… I don’t want to call the regular cops because it’s a long-term relationship –” Stabler’d find out pretty quickly they were cops, and he didn’t want the detective not responding just because it was a fellow officer in blue “—and I know sometimes they look the other way in these cases.”

“I’m on my way,” Stabler promised. “Where are you?”

Brad gave his address, then the neighbors’. “Please hurry; I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

“I’m pretty close, luckily,” Stabler said. “Don’t do anything. Stay out of it.”

“I will,” Brad said. “Be careful, I know at least one of them owns a gun.” He felt that Stabler should get that warning, at least, in case the aggressor was using their work gun to subdue his partner.

*** 

Elliot rushed along the hallway, his gun drawn. These halls looked familiar, and he wondered why he had been here before. Probably canvassing the apartment building; the caller had said that he had given his card to him years before.

Elliot knocked on the door. No response. “Police, open up!” he called.

Still nothing.

He heard a scream, and he kicked the door down. He rushed into the apartment and suddenly remembered why this apartment building had looked so familiar. This was where Munch and Fin lived, and he had just burst into their apartment. He sighed and holstered his gun. From what he knew, they were _loud_. It was probably nothing, and he turned to leave.

Except he distinctly heard John say, “I said, _off me!_ ”

Elliot ran into the bedroom to find John cuffed to the bed, Fin holding him down, fucking him, John struggling underneath him, trying to throw him off. Holy shit. He had _never, ever_ thought Fin was capable of this, but it was clear as day in front of him.

He pulled Fin off John forcefully. “Fin!” he said. “How _could_ you?”

“Elliot?” they both asked, staring at him. The cuffs rattled as John pulled on them, trying desperately to get free, and Fin struggled against Elliot’s grip.

“No,” Elliot said firmly, “I’m not letting you go.”

“Dude, you think I could go let John out so we could make ourselves decent and explain?” Fin asked dryly. “And maybe you can tell us what you’re doing in our bedroom?” 

Elliot was suddenly very, very conscious of the fact that both Fin and John were stark naked. He sighed and said, “I’m watching you,” to Fin. 

“I’m well aware of that,” Fin said, even more dryly. “And I’m extremely aware of your gun right now,” he added. “I’m just getting the key to the cuffs and some fucking clothes. I’d sure as fuck appreciate not having my dick hanging out for this discussion, I’m sure John would too, and I know you would.”

Fin went to the nightstand and grabbed the key to the cuffs and let John out. John rolled into a ball, covering himself with a blanket while Fin slithered into pants. Elliot noted distantly that yeah, Fin had a tattoo, too, same as the one he had seen on John a while back, except the words were different.

Elliot was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he had just stopped Fin from… he didn’t think the words. He was just sorry he hadn’t gotten there in time to prevent it, but at least he had managed to interrupt it. Fin slipped a shirt on. 

“I’ll come to the living room with you, let John put on some clothes,” Fin said.

“You seem to care an awful lot, given what you were doing,” Elliot said.

“You’ve got this all backward,” Fin said. “Seriously. John, you coming?”

“Yeah,” John answered quietly. He came out in a bathrobe and pajama pants and sat down next to Fin, holding his hand. 

“Fin, I gotta take you in,” Elliot said. “What I walked in on…”

“Was a consensual sexual encounter,” John said firmly. 

Elliot shook his head. “Listen, I know what I saw, I know what I walked into. Fin, give me a moment with John.”

Fin’s jaw clenched, but he stood up, gave John’s hand one last squeeze, and walked away.

Elliot leaned forward. “John, it’s okay. You don’t have to be scared of him. I’m gonna do this by the book, and he won’t ever do it again. He won’t be able to hurt you again, John.” He hesitated, then decided to do it. He took one of John’s hands, holding it reassuringly.

John yanked his hand away and looked Elliot dead in the eyes. “I am beyond myself that you can think Fin would ever, _ever_ do that, Elliot,” John said quietly, his voice low and dangerous. “It _was_ a consensual sexual encounter. I’m not trying to protect him, and you can stop fucking treating me like a victim. He likes it when I struggle. Hell, I like it when he cuffs me to the bed and asks me to struggle. It’s a game, and we have a safeword. Do you understand me?”

Elliot looked at John. “Nothing happened?”

“Nothing I didn’t want as much as Fin did,” John confirmed, his voice still low with restrained anger. “I told you, it’s a game we play.”

Elliot nodded. “Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath. This was far, far more than he had wanted to know about them, but hell, it was relieving as fuck to know that Fin wasn’t… hadn’t… he still couldn’t think it.

John shot him a disgusted look. “Fin, come back,” he called.

Fin came back, grasping John’s hand immediately. “I assume John explained,” he said coldly. 

Elliot swallowed hard. “Fin,” he started.

“You could’ve given me the benefit of the doubt, Elliot, after all these years,” Fin said, his voice like ice. “I would’ve done that for you. You knew already we were into some kinky shit.”

“You don’t know how it looked when I entered,” Elliot protested. “You would’ve reacted, too.”

“Which brings me to my next point,” John said coldly. “Why are you in our apartment? I’ve noticed you kicked our door down, thanks for that, by the way. Is knocking beneath you now? I can’t imagine a reason for you to go kicking our door down, especially since you know where we live.”

“Listen, I forgot it was your apartment, I’ve been here _once_. I got a call earlier from your neighbor. He heard John struggling and he thought… well, he thought what I thought,” Elliot said, still not putting words to it. “He called me, worried, still had my card, and I came. I _did_ knock, and identified myself as the police, by the way, but you didn’t answer. I assume you were too busy being kinky,” he said defensively. He was defensive and he knew it was irrational – he wasn’t the one nearly accused and hauled in on a rape charge, but he felt like shit for doing that to Fin. Fin wasn’t his favorite, they had clashed before, but hell, he’d be pissed as fuck in Fin’s position (or John’s, for that matter), and their combined anger made him defensive and angry and irrational. “I kicked the door down because I had a credible report,” he said, “and I still didn’t realize it was _your_ apartment. Once inside, I realized where I was. I was about to leave, or at least tell you that I had, uh, kicked your door in, when I heard John. And from there you know what happened.”

John stood up. “I think you should leave now,” he said, giving Fin’s shoulder a squeeze. “And stay away from Fin. I don’t trust you around him anymore.”

Elliot stood up too. “John, Fin,” he said, controlling his anger the best he could. “It was a credible report, and I had to follow up.”

“You didn’t need to accuse Fin of something so heinous out of turn,” John said. “I know what you said, but you’ve certainly inadvertently seen enough of our sex life by now to know it’s healthy. I… I don’t know if I can trust you anymore, Elliot. Not after this.”

Fin said nothing, just looked at his hands.

“Fin?” Elliot asked. “Fin, I am sorry.”

Fin looked at him. “I s’pose what hurts the most, Elliot, is that you don’t trust me,” he said. “I would’ve thought by now you’d know me well enough to trust me not to hurt John. I guess I was wrong. If you can’t trust me, I sure as fuck don’t trust you. John’s right, you should leave.”

Elliot left, glancing over his shoulder. He saw John pulling Fin close, into a comforting hug, and he left with a heavy, guilty heart. He’d really fucked up, and while he wasn’t particularly close to Fin or John, they had been friendly before this. It would be tense as fuck at the 16th for a while.

*** 

Cragen was waiting for him when Elliot entered the squad room the next morning. “My office, Elliot, now.”

Elliot knew what this was about, and he was surprised that John and Fin had gone to the Captain. “Captain, I…”

“Spare me the explanations,” Cragen said. “Just tell me – did you, or did you not, accuse Fin last night of rape?”

Elliot blanched at the word. He had never… he had never even _thought_ the word in connection with Fin, even during the whole situation. “Captain, I got a tip from their nei—”

“I said spare me the explanations, Elliot, and I meant it. Did you accuse Fin of raping John?”

“Yes,” Elliot said, shifting. He wanted to explain everything that had led up to it, but it seemed Cragen was in no mood to hear about it.

“What in _hell_ were you thinking?” Cragen demanded. 

“Captain, I received a credible tip and I followed it,” Elliot said, glad to finally get to tell his side. “When I walked in, it didn’t seem like a consensual encounter.”

“And instead of ascertaining whether it was, you pulled them apart and threatened to collar Fin, then gave John a hard time when he told you what was going on,” Cragen said. “I’ve now got both Munch and Fin asking to be transferred out of this department, Elliot. I don’t know what I’m going to do with you – it might be time for you to transfer out of this department.”

“Captain?” Elliot asked, gobsmacked. “What? I… SVU’s my…”

“I’m serious, Elliot. If you are so zealous about your work you’re accusing your coworkers, SVU may not be the place for you anymore. You’re dismissed, and you stay the hell away from them. That’s an order.”

*** 

The 16th was exactly as tense as Elliot had thought it would be. The case they were working was causing a lot of tension, and Elliot was careful never to talk to either John or Fin alone. Munch and Fin were cool towards him, not that he could blame them. He tried to put himself in their shoes – he’d probably punch someone who accused him of raping anyone, not that he was into that kind of kinky shit that could lead someone to his _very understandable_ mistake (Elliot was hanging on to that, even though he did know that John and Fin were very… adventurous, having stumbled across their sex life several times before).

Liv had been trying to ask him what was going on, why it was so cool between them and where the tension was coming from, but Elliot was absolutely unwilling to talk about it. He didn’t want to admit what he had nearly done. He wondered if Liv had had more luck with Munch and Fin. He doubted it; Liv hadn’t confronted him, and she wasn’t the type to be quiet about this.

Then came the shoot-out. He had had to shoot that girl, that poor girl, and he was beside himself. He couldn’t go back after that. He’d probably be cleared, given that she had just shot up the place, but he was done. Between his mistake and shooting a teenager, mainly shooting a teenager, he was done.

Cragen was right, he had been at SVU too long.

He didn’t even say goodbye, not even to Liv. It was better just to leave, leave it all behind, all the anger, all the stress, all the tension, all those crazy fucking perverts, the victims, the ghosts, just leave it there and move on.

*** 

There was a knock on his door several days later. He opened it to find Munch and Fin there, and he went to shut the door again.

John caught it. “We want to talk to you,” he said.

“I’m not coming back,” Elliot said firmly.

“We ain’t askin’ you to,” Fin said. “Trust me.”

“On the other hand, you could maybe return Liv’s calls, she’s pretty fucking upset,” Munch said. “The way you left really upset her.”

“Only her?”

Munch and Fin glanced at each other. “You know we requested a transfer,” Fin said. “Listen, you fucked up. I ain’t gonna lie and say I’m upset I don’t have to work with someone who trusts me so little. But I ain’t here about that. I’m here ‘cause of Liv.”

“She’s better off without me.”

“Probably,” John agreed, “But somehow she doesn’t seem to think so, so maybe you could stop wallowing in self-pity long enough to at least say good-bye to your partner of over a decade.”

“If I call her, she’s gonna try to convince me to come back. I’ve had enough. I’m sick of the perps, of the victims, of the images, of never knowing when I’m gonna find out something else about your sex life,” Elliot answered. “That last one especially. I’ve got enough images of that to last me a lifetime. But I’m sick of the work, and shooting that teenager got to me. I don’t want to be pressured into going back.”

“So you’re just gonna disappear. Nice,” Fin said sarcastically. “Come on, babe, we ain’t gonna change his mind.”

Elliot looked at them worriedly. “Are you gonna tell Liv you saw me?”

“Hell no,” Fin answered immediately. “I don’t wanna have to deal with that.”

“At least think about it,” John said, turning to leave. “Don’t you think Liv deserves that much?”

Elliot sighed and shut the door. Liv probably did, but it wasn’t something he could give – he felt stretched thin right now, confused, all over the place with the stresses from the past few weeks. Maybe he should give therapy another try.

He watched through the window as Munch and Fin left and wondered what he was going to do next. SVU had consumed him so much that he had no idea where to start, where to go from here. It was time to rediscover himself.

**Author's Note:**

> For [sidewinder](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sidewinder/pseuds/sidewinder), because she prompted this fic with a comment about how Elliot probably left SVU because he knew too much about his coworker's sex life.


End file.
